CITI: 10 innovations that will completely change the future of the global economy

We can't become more productive without new technology,
strategies, and markets - and huge innovations can create
economies all to themselves, according to Elizabeth Curmi, an
analyst at Citi Global Perspectives and Solutions.

New innovations like the internet of things and electric cars are
starting to create their own markets. But what will come next?

Citi Global Perspectives and Solutions compiled
a list of 10 innovations that have the possibility of
changing the way we think about our economy. From biotech to
energy, these are the 10 best chances we have at finding the next
big thing.

Read on to find out which innovations made the list:

Big data in energy

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REUTERS/Tim Wimborne

Big data is basically a buzzword for data analytics.

Big data could change the business models of energy and utility
companies. Companies like Solar City and Tesla are starting to
give people the means to meet their own electricity demands. If
this trend continues, the main source of power for many people
may not be a giant power station, but their neighborhood full of
solar panels.

Utility companies could become more of a mediator between homes,
using big data to seamlessly find the best source of power for a
home, whether it's their neighborhood solar panels or the nuclear
power plant in town.

It could lead energy to become "un-commoditized," according to
Anthony Yuen, an analyst at Citi.

Contextual commerce

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David Becker/Getty Images

Take Amazon's "recommended for you" suggestions, expand that to
your fridge, car dashboard and smartphone screen, and you get an
idea of what contextual commerce could mean.

Your fridge might notice that you are low on hummus, so it
suggests buying a refill. Or maybe you are chatting about a party
with your friends on Facebook Messenger, and the app suggests
ordering an Uber to help get you to the party.

These types of smart commerce suggestions are coming soon and
provide a huge opportunity for companies that want to reach
consumers when it is most convenient.

Direct-to-consumer marketplaces

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Sarah Jacobs

Etsy lets small creators sell directly to their customers, and
sites like Squarespace allow small businesses to set up online
stores for their goods.

These direct-to-consumer markets are opening all over, thanks to
the internet, and they represent a big opportunity to diversify
industries that were traditionally bottlenecked by retail stores
and middle sellers.

Epigenetics

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Thomson Reuters

Genetic diseases are extremely hard to treat, and rogue genes are
the cause of many cancers. Epigenetics is a class of drugs that
switches target genes on or off, which can stop cancer in its
tracks and let other drugs, like immunotherapy treatments,
eliminate the cancerous cells.

The future look of devices

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LG Display

Bendable screens, new materials, and augmented reality may all be
contributing factors in the next wave of technology hardware
design. Phones could start looking like wallets with folding
screens, and TVs may be as thin as paper and transportable by
simply rolling them up and taking them with you.

We may even start seeing this next wave of products as early as
2017, according to Arthur Lai, an analyst at Citi.

The smart box

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Thomson Reuters

When all your appliances are connected to the internet, you might
need a way for them to talk to each other.

The internet of things is bringing smarts to a lot of everyday
technologies, but the battle for the box that would bring all of
those smarts together is a big one.

If one company like Google or Apple could create a standard for
these devices to interact, there may be a market for an
easy-to-use box that would connect your new smart devices.

Next-gen ocular delivery

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Getty Images/Mark Mainz

Eye diseases will affect around 21 million people in the US by
the year 2020, according to Yigal Nochomovitz, an analyst at
Citi. If a new way for sustained treatments is developed, it
could usurp the current shots and eye drops.

Small implants could deliver drugs to a patient's eye for an
extended period and could expand the possible marketplace by $13
billion in the next 15 years, according to Nochomovitz.

Open-source robotics

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Thomson Reuters

Robots have traditionally performed repetitive tasks that are
easy to program. With new advances in robotics in a variety of
fields, industrial robots have a larger base of technology to
pull from, and they could do tasks that require more
collaboration and communication.

Martin Wilkie, an analyst at Citi, says these types of
innovations could double the market for industrial robotics by
2020.

Thermoplastic subsea pipes

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NPRA

Deepwater oil represents a big growth area for the oil industry,
but costs are high.

Advanced plastic piping can last longer, is cheaper to make, and
is easier to install than traditional steel piping, which could
lower costs significantly for the oil industry.

Wide-bandgap semiconductors

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REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Silicon has been the driving material behind the semiconductors
that are in nearly every modern electronic. But the silicon-based
technology is nearing the limits of physics when it comes to
speed and size.

New innovations in wide-bandgap semiconductors could mean smaller
and more powerful chips in the future.